The Daily Prophet Does Some Good
by words-with-dragons
Summary: When a Daily Prohet newspaper lands on Petunia's lawn, things get crazy, and Dudley realizes he should try to make amends with Harry. But will Harry accept his apology?
1. Prologue

The Daily Prophet Does Some Good by Loonatics Lover13 =)

Prolouge!

It had been a couple of days since the Dursleys had been allowed to return home to Number Four, Privet Drive.

"Much too long." Sniffed Aunt Petunia, as she washed dishes and craned her long neck out the window, hoping to hear some gossip about Mr Williams and his new wife who was twenty years younger than him. Uncle Vernon was at work, and Dudley was at a friend's house for the afternoon. But as Petunia looked outside, she became absolutely livid. A piece of litter, a newspaper, was crumpled up and in the middle of her otherwise perfect green lawn. She put the dish she was washing into the sink, and wiped her hands on her pink apron. Then she bustled out of the kitchen over to the lawn. She picked up the paper, but froze. She thought she had seen a picture move. But pictures don't move, she told herself. Deciding to see what was so important that a person had thrown it on her lawn she uncrumpled the paper. The headline read something: Harry Potter Defeats He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!

Harry? Her nephew Harry Potter? What was he doing on the headline of a newspaper? And why was this newspaper called the 'Daily Prophet'? Realization dawned on her. It was a newspaper from Harry's lot. Disgusted she walked back into the house, and threw the paper in the trash, and went back to washing dishes. But she couldn't deny the motherly feeling that had come over her that Harry was safe. More confused than ever, Petunia lost herself in her work, and didn't tell Uncle Vernon or Dudley what she had found out.

~HARRY POTTER FOREVER! so much better than twilight! *shudders at the thought that twilight could possibly be better than HP*

Harry Potter swished and flicked his wand, performing Wingardium Leviosa, on a large mound of broken stone from a wall. He moved it over to a larger pile, where everyone was dumping their pile. It would be a while until Hogwarts was fixed. It was very early morning, the timid sun's rays beginning to burn away the mists of night. The Malfoys had been missing since the battle, which bugged Harry vigorously. Even though the Malfoys would probably go to Azkaban, they could help, because they hadn't lost anyone in the war. Well, except Bellatrix Lestrange, if you could call her family. Even the Weasley's, who were grieving over the painful loss of Fred, were helping out.

"Hey Harry!" Ron called out, walking up to him. "Breakfast is starting, you should come in."

Harry didn't feel hungry at all. His stomach was tied in knots, guilt eveywhere. He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not hungry. Besides, I want to get this finished today."

Ron sighed. "Well Hermione will have a fit if you don't come. And Ginny's eating too."

The mention of Ginny perked Harry up, which bothered Ron a bit. After all, Ginny was still his little sister. "I guess I should have something." Harry said, and the two mates walked back to the castle, and into the Great Hall. The dead had been cleared out, most had been buried already on the grounds. House elves walked to and fro, carrying bandages around, for many people needed new ones, others carrying food for people. Harry was hit with a painful sting. They reminded him so much of Dobby. Ron led him to the Gryffindor table, where Hermione and Ginny were sitting. Hermione was reading the 'Daily Prophet', which still had a similiar headline it had two days ago: 'Harry Potter, The Savoir of The Wizarding World'. Ginny was nibbling on a piece of toast, looking pale. It's not everyday you lose an older brother. When Harry saw the headline he became angry.

"They better mention everyone else." Harry said bitterly, sitting down on the bench next to Hermione. Ron, this time, didn't feel any jealousy towards him. "Lupin, Tonks..." Harry trailed off. He had been about to say Fred. Hoping his pause would go unoticed he listed off other heroes, non dead ones. "Then there's Neville. Wonder what happened to him and Luna. Do you guys know?"

Hermione laughed. "I walked in on them snogging in the Ravenclaw common room."

"Bout time he had a girlfriend." Ron said, tearing off a peice of bacon and stuffing it in his mouth. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You never stop eating do you Ron?" she asked, amused.

"Let's go back out after breakfast and help remove the debris." Ginny said quietly. It was the first time she had spoken since Fred's funeral. Harry smiled shyly at her.

"That's a good idea Ginny." he said carefully. He was very pleased when he saw her blush. He loved her, wanted to be with her, but wasn't sure if she would have him back. This blush could be a step towards being together again. Smiling he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

**Shorter because it's the prolouge. Next chapters will be longer! Please Review!**


	2. Aurors and Fanmail

Often, when you focus so much on cleaning, things slip your mind, which is why in three days, Petunia forgot about the 'Daily Prohpet'. But it was garbage day tomorrow, and someone had to take it out, Petunia was busy cleaning and Vernon was promoting drill orders at Grunnings, and only Dudley could do it.

"Dudley!" Petunia called out shrillingly to her son, who was watching TV. "Take out the garbage!"

"Why can't Har-" Dudley stopped himself. Harry couldn't do it, he wasn't here anymore. Dudley was hit with a hurtful pang. He didn't even know if Harry was alive or not. He slowly got off the couch, trying to make sense of what had come over him. Could it be possible he cared about Harry? L-like a brother? But Harry had always been his punching bag! Wallowing in all the bad things he had done to Harry, he took out the trash. He dumped it into the trash can, but something, a newspaper, had fluttered out, and Dudley could see one word, but it was the only word he cared about: Harry. He desprately picked up the newspaper and read the article.

**Harry Potter, otherwise known as the Chosen One, defeated Voldemort one week ago exactly, on May 2nd. Many people were killed in the battle, most of them close to Potter, such as Remus Lupin, his wife Nyphadora Tonks Lupin, Fred Weasley and Collin Creevey. When asked comments, Potter could barely respond.**

**"I'm not the only who helped, lots of other people did too. Ron, Hermione, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Neville, Luna, Kingsley Shacklebolt..." then he trailed off, before continuing. "Severus Snape." Obviously the young seventeen year old is too distraught to think straight, as everyone knows Severus Snape resumed his role of Death Eater one year ago, after killing Potter's mentor, Albus Dumbledore.**

**All the surviving Hogwarts students and the Order Of The Phoenix, are busy burying the dead and cleaning up the wreckage of the presteemed Hogwarts. I, Rita Skeeter, will give my loyal readers the daily updates in the next edition.**

**By Rita Skeeter.**

Dudley breathed a sigh of relief, Harry was alive. Dudley could apologize to him! But then Dudley realized a big problem: how would he contact his cousin? Wait, he thought, didn't Harry and his friends use owls to contact each other? Dudley stuffed the newspaper into his pocket and put the lid on the trash.

Later that afternoon Dudley went to the local zoo by himself. He knew his parents wouldn't like what he was doing, but he _needed _to, even he didn't fully understand. He stopped at the owl exhibit, and started whispering to the barn owl closest to him.

"Umm. My name is Dudley Dursley, and I, uh, need you to take this to my cousin Harry Potter," he slid a rolled up piece of paper at the owl. "Harry Potter? You know him?" A finger tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped and turned around to face the stranger. He was in a lavender cloak and looked quite old, for his hair was white and had a purple hat on top of his head.

"I know you!" Dudley exclaimed, but not too loudly. The man giggled.

"So you're looking for your cousin huh?" the man asked, still giggling. "And Minerva always said I didn't have any sense."

"Um yeah. You're-"

"Dedalus Diggle, at your service. I see you've had a change of heart about wizards. Last time I was around you, you kept on covering your hiney with your hands."

Dudley's cheeks reddened, embarrassed, but decided to get back to point at hand. "Can you get this to my cousin Harry?"

Dedalus sighed. "I don't know how easy that'll be my boy. Everybody wants to talk to him, he's the savior of the wizarding world afterall."

This took Dudley by surprise. "He is?"

Dedalus nodded, and took the letter from Dudley. "Your cousin's done many amazing things, but if this gets to him, and I'll do my best to insure it, he can tell you himself. Only him and his best friends know exactly what happened." Dedalus looked around, looking for any muggles. Nobody was there except for Dudley and Dedalus, the other muggles were on the other side of the zoo looking at tigers. Dedalus gave Dudley a wink and a smile before with a large crack he had apparated. Dudley blinked once, before realizing that Dedalus was gone. Assuming it was a normal wizard spell he left the zoo and went back home, hoping Harry would get his letter. He wondered how Harry's owl was, he did have an owl didn't he? Sighing he lay on the couch and turned on the TV.

"Get out! Out!" Kingsley Shacklebolt yelled at the reporters. They had been constantly swarming Harry and the other members of the battle, asking them annoying questions. They had been getting on his nerves for days, so Kingsley was almost pleased to have this excuse of a private conversation with Harry to block them all out. "Sit." Kingsley said, guestering to the chair in front of his desk. They were in one of the proffesseur's empty offices. Harry sat in the chair. Kingsley sat in the chair opposite of Harry, putting his elbows on the desk.

"So Harry, I came to discuss a private topic with you," Kingsley began with a smile. Harry just looked at him imploringly. "I understand if you don't want the offer, after all you've seen plenty of adventure in your life, but I was wondering if you would like to be Head Auror?"

Harry weighed the options in his head. There were still a lot of Death Eaters to round up, and lots of aurors were dead from the battle. "I think I'd like that," he said at last. "I hope you don't mind waiting a few months do you? I've just been through a lot lately and I want to help rebuild Hogwarts."

Kingsley clasped his hands together, pleased. "Of course Harry, of course. Also, do you think Miss Granger and Mr Weasley would be up for it too?"

"I dunno, I can ask them later and tell you."

Kingsley nodded. "Good, good. You three can bypass the training though, you did harder things than the training when you were on the run." Kingsley sighed. "I also have another matter to discuss. All the mail you're going to get. With the Daily Prohpet already reporting your victory, people have been sending thousands of letters. Me and the Ministry are going to work out a system to handle the fanmail, and make sure only personal letters get to you,"

"Please don't go to any trouble," Harry requested. Kingsley chuckled.

"No trouble at all Harry, it'll be an easy task." Kingsley insisted, and then rose from his chair. "Now get along my boy." Harry got out of his chair and walked out of the office. Luckily the reporters had gotten tired of waiting and had left. He sat down next to Hermione, Ron and Ginny sitting on the bench on the other side of the table.

"Kingsley offered us Auror jobs," Harry said pleased. Ron nodded vigoriously, stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth, which caused Hermione to shake her head. Harry laughed, it almost felt like old times. He couldn't forget the paleness of Ginny and Ron's faces from losing Fred, or the "M" of mudblood on Hermione's arm...

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. A Letter? From Dudley!

**Sorry this took so long, I promise to update sooner, but I've been working on non-fanfictions lately, and this is one of thirteen fanfiction stories, some I haven't updated in months. So I'll be busy, busy, busy updating. =) Hope you guys like this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW!**

Chapter Three: A Letter? From Dudley!

Harry sat on the opposite side of Ginny at the Gryffindor table. The tension and awkwardness in the air was unbelievable. Hermione had woken up early and was helping with reconstruction, meanwhile Ron was still snoring away up in the boys dormitry. Harry hoped Ron would come down soon, just sitting in silence with Ginny was driving him crazy. Which was why when a large tawny owl dropped a letter in front of him he was almost relieved for a distraction. The letter landed in his bacon. He grabbed it and looked at the back, seeing Harry Potter written in an untidy scrawl he couldn't recognize. He also was wary this could be a cursed letter from an angry Death Eater. But when he saw a stamp on the back that thought vanished. What Death Eater would put a stamp on his letter? Unless they were really, really stupid.

He opened it unsure of its contents. He carefully took the piece of paper from the waxy envelope and opened it, and began to read the letter:

_Dear Harry,_

_I know I was a right big git and prat to you growing up. After you saved my lif- soul two years ago, I've had a lot of time to think, especially when I was in hiding surrounded by wizards and witches, who are a lot different than the vision Mom and Dad brainwashed into me. I've decided thinking isn't that bad, and neither are you, in fact you're better than that. I wish I could've been a better cousin to you. I just hope you accpet my apologies._

_I'm sorry for hunting you with my gang. They ditched me when I was fifteen, and I realized they were never good friends in the first place._

_I'm sorry for blaming things on you. You always got the worst punishments, while I just got a frown, if even that._

_I'm sorry for teasing you about your nightmares, especially those ones about that boy in the graveyard._

_I'm sorry that from the age of four you were forced to cook my large breakfast every morning, while you barely ate enough._

_I'm sorry you never got a single present, while I was spoiled with 37 gifts almost every year._

_I'm sorry for everything I did, but I'm also sorry for my parents. I realize how wrong they were, about everything. About how they treated you, what they said about wizards, your parents, and I'm sorry for myself that I proudly called them Mom and Dad all those years. Even if you don't accept my apologies (which is totally understandable) I just wanted you to know._

_On the chance you do accept my apologies, how does lunch this Saturday sound? It could be at Privet Drive, and you could collect everything you left behind. Dad would be at work for most of the morning and afternoon, and Mom's planning to do yard work. If you want to bring people to help collect your stuff you can, I assume you left a lot. You can send an answer back with this owl if you want._

_Your cousin, Dudley_

Harry stopped reading the letter, stunned. Ron had sauntered down the staircases and sat next to Ginny.

"Who sent the letter Harry?" Ginny asked softly, her face still pale, but colour was returning to her usually rosy cheeks.

"My cousin," he answered, barely able to mange the words out.

"You mean Dudley?" Ron said incredously.

Harry slowly nodded. "Yeah. He's invited me to lunch this Saturday, I can bring a couple of friends, and can collect all the stuff I left there."

Ron just looked stunned still, but managed to talk. "You, me and Hermione can go and get your stuff, maybe see if Dudley has changed."

"NO!" Ginny yelled desperatly. Harry and Ron looked at her surprised at her sudden outburst. "You two and Hermione aren't leaving me behind again!" she started sobbing on Ron's shoulder. Harry and him shared a glance, and knew this wasn't really about Dudley, it was about the sense of abandonment Ginny had felt when a girl who was like her sister, her brother, and her ex-boyfriend who she still loved had taken off, leaving her all alone. She had Neville, Luna, but Luna had been captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, and Neville had had to take refuge in the Room of Requirment, leaving her all alone with the Carrows. Usually she was an idpendent girl who could handle problems on her own, she was a feisty fighter, but with everything that had happened, they weren't extremely surprised it had gotten to her, Fred's death probably being the hardest blow.

"We're not leaving you Ginny," Harry promised, walking over and sitting beside her, wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders. "We'll-I'll never leave you." Ginny looked at him with hopeful eyes, and Ron decided that he now found the wall quite fascinationg.

"You promise?" she whispered.

"I promise." Harry said, smiling gently. He took her hand and saw her smile. Ron coughed loudly, bringing them back to reality. They blushed, and smiled at Hermione a couple minutes later when she sat next to them. Harry explained about Dudley's invitation, and although slightly angry at the Dursleys, she said she thought it was a good idea.

Harry nodded, agreeing with her. "So this Saturday the four of us go to Privet Drive and see Dudley. He said Uncle Vernon would be at work for most of the morning and afternoon."

"You mean the man that made you sleep in a cupboard for the first ten years of your life?" Ginny asked fiercely, totally recovered from her mini breakdown. Harry nodded carefully, while wondering how that was able. "I wanna stay late and hex him." she decided. Harry sighed but laughed at her words, figuring that what just happened had officially made them a couple again. But he found it strange to laugh, something that Fred, Tonks and Lupin had done so often, and it seemed... wrong.

He frowned. "How could we leave the castle in the state that's it in?"

Ron chuckled lightly. "McGonagall is having every single Slytherin do most of the work this week. I guess she thought they faired better than most cause they were down in the dungeons for the beginning of the battle. The rest of us are allowed to kick back and relax. And if anyone deserves it, it's us."

Hermione nodded, her still slightly bushy hair bouncing with her head. "Ron's right." Ron almost looked surprised at her agreeing with him, but smiled at her. She blushed and laughed. Harry shook his head, with a grin on his face, still feeling slightly guilty at smiling, but he knew that none of them would want him to be sad.

"Well it's settled then, this Saturday we go to Privet Drive. I did leave a lot of stuff behind." Harry said plainly, ending the matter.


	4. Some Hopeful Thoughts

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione apparated in front of number four Privet Drive on Saturday, around 11:30 in the morning, wondering what to expect. The four friends walked up to the door, Harry noticing despite everything that had happened over the years, Privet Drive looked exactly the same as it had seven years prior.

Knocking on the door, Harry almost found himself wishing he could face Voldemort again. A slightly thick man with blonde hair and watery blue eyes opened the door, a large smile on his face. With a start, Harry realized it was Dudley. While in hiding, he must have lost...a lot of weight.

"Hullo Harry, please, come in." Dudley said kindly, and moved out of the way for the four to come in.

"So Dudley, these are my friends Ron and Hermione, and my girlfriend Ginny." Harry introduced each, wrapping his arm around Ginny's waiste before Ron coughed loudly and Harry took his arm back. "Ginny is Ron's little sister." he explained, blushing slightly. Dudley nodded, looking slightly impressed.

"So, Harry, your stuff's upstairs in your room. It looks like those Death Munchers-" Dudley

"Death Eaters." Hermione filled in, not warmly, but not coldly either.

"Yeah, those guys, never touched it. Thanks Hermione." Dudley said. Harry went to go upstairs, his friends and cousin behind him, when he paused by the cupboard.

"Harry, is that where you-?" Ginny said softly, looking at him with love in her brown eyes.

"Slept. Yeah." he finished. Ginny bent down and opened the door, slightly, pulling the string attached to the lightbulb, turning the light on.

"It's so small." Ginny said, and almost laughed when a spider crawled on her finger. Unlike her brother, she had no problem whatsoever with spiders. It was snakes that scared her, the reasons completely obvious. She showed Ron the spider, and smiled when he hid slightly behind Hermione. Once she had finished looking, they headed upstairs to the Boy-Who-Lived's bedroom.

Harry grimaced when he saw the spot Hedwig's cage would always rest. Sifting through his things, Dudley watched the friends search.

"So, what did you guys do this year?" Dudley asked politely, trying to make conversation, not realizing he couldn't have asked a worse question. Ginny didn't look up as she picked up Harry's dirty scarlet and gold Quidditch robes, folded them and put them in the bag Hermione had brought and charmed to expand.

"Oh, well, Ron, Hermione and I went on the run." Harry said, putting it as simply as he could. He shrunk his school books and stuffed them into the bag.

"From that Lord Voldy guy. He got defeated right?"

"Yeah, he's dead now."

"Defeated by none other than Harry Potter himself," Ron said, smiling gently while he nudged his best friend playfully. Harry turned crimson while Dudley gaped at him.

"You defeated him? What else have you done?"

"It wasn't just me, I never would've gotten out of any of those situations we got into with Ron and Hermione." Harry put in quickly, ignoring his cousin's other question.

"Well, in his first year, he defeated-" Ron started, when Vernon Dursley made his way up into the bedroom.

"Dudley, what are you doing in the boy's room-" Vernon began, but when he registered the sight of Harry and the others, he exploded. "WHAT IS THAT FREAK DOING HERE! DOES HE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WE WENT THROUGH, MISSING A WHOLE YEAR OF OUR LIVES SURROUNDED BY FREAKS!" Vernon roared.

Dudley winced. "I thought he wouldn't be home."

"Excuse me, what **you **went through?" Ron yelled. "You got to sit here on your fat butt in luxury! You don't have any idea what just happened a few days ago!"

"Vernon, why are you yel-" Petunia said as she came up into the bedroom, but stopped talking when she saw her husband's reason. Snapping her mouth shut, she just stared, shocked.

"No, you don't!" Ron snapped. "We just fought a war, my brother died! Hermione was tortured! Harry died!"

"I know that's rubbish, the boy's right here, he couldn't have died." Vernon sneered with a snort.

"Uh, I actually did die. I was Voldemort's last horcrux, so I had to-" Harry started to explain, when Ginny cut him off.

"No, you didn't 'had to' you chose to. He sacrificed his life so no one else would die."

"Blimey Harry, I never knew." Dudley said softly, awestruck.

"Oh, Harry's done more than anyone will ever know. In his first year, he defeated Voldemort for the second time, and saved the Philosepher's stone," Hermione said sharply to Vernon and Petunia.

"Hey! You guys helped-"

"In his second year he defeated a giant snake with nothing but a sword and saved my life." Ginny recalled.

"Third year he saved his godfather Sirius Black from the Dementor's Kiss after finding out he was innocent and fought off about a hundred of them." Ron inputed, his face red with anger.

"Dementors," Dudley whimpered, causing Petunia to hug him, but he pushed her off.

"Fourth year he was entered in a deadly contest that was meant to kill him, was tortured by Voldemort, saw him rise again, escaped him, and saw Cedric Diggory get murdered."

"Murdered?" Dudley whimpered some more, feeling **horrible **he had ever teased Harry about those nightmares.

"Guys, please, don't-" Harry protested softly, putting two fingers up to touch his scar while he thought about his lost godfather.

"In fifth year he was tortured by a woman for telling the truth, everyone believing he was a liar when he was telling the truth because of the Daily Prophet! He saw his godfather get killed!"

"At only sixteen he had an impossible task placed on his shoulders and saw his mentor Albus Dumbledore killed by a man he trusted!"

"Severus Snape." Harry managed in to his Aunt and saw her surprised face.

"And this past year Ron, Harry and I went through hell defeating Voldemort." Hermione said bitterly with a tone of finality.

Vernon just looked stunned, just as Dudley did, while Petunia looked at Harry, who was staring at his shoes.

"Harry?" she whispered, and walked over to her nephew. He looked up at her, surprised. She had never called him Harry, or talked to him in such a gentle way. "I'm sorry."

Harry nodded curtly, before closing the bag. "I can't forgive you, not yet," he said, closing his emerald eyes in a pained way. Looking at his friends, he spoke in a louder voice this time. "We can go, I got everything." The two witches and wizards went out of the room and were about to step out the door to apparate (they are protection charms on the house in case of Death Eaters) when he heard someone shout his name.

"Harry!" Dudley yelled, and stopped at the doorway. "I'll be getting my own place soon, maybe you could come over?" he offered with a meek smile.

Harry smiled down at his cousin. "Sure. I'd like that. See you around Big D," Dudley grinned before closing the door, he smiled to himself, Harry doing the same on the other side of the door. _Maybe, _Harry thought as he walked down the street with his friends before apparating, _everything will be all right. _

_Maybe, _Dudley thought as he walked back upstairs to his parents, _that Daily Prophet did some good. _

* * *

><p><strong>My first multi-chap Harry Potter story; done! =) Sorry for the long wait; school and life always get in the way. :S Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, please review! =D<strong>


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